Spacer for dipper-handles.



C. B. KING, C. B. WESTON & G. HOLMES.

SPACER FOR DIPPBR HANDLES.

APPLICATION rILED 00T.z5,191s.

Illllllll.

Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

N? Tl (i2/@Hummm CHARLES B. KING AND CLARENCE B. WESTN, C? MARIO?, 53H10, ANB GRANT ECX-MES, 0F DE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS TG THE MARI STEAM SHOVEL COMPANY, 0F MRION, OBI, A CORPORATION OF OHO.

SPACER FR DIPPEBPHANDLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. i?.

To all 'whom 'itma concern:

Be it known t at we, CHARLES B. KING and CLARENCE B` WESTON, both residing at Marion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, and GRANT HOLMES, residing at Danville, in the county of Vermilion and State of Illinois, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spacers for Dipper- Handles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings. A

This invention relates to a spacer for a dipper handle such as is commonly em.'

ployed in connection'with steam shovels and similar excavating machines. In excavating machines of this type a long boom is employed which comprises two members spaced apart land adapted to receive between them a` dipper handle which also comprises two members. These booms and dipper handles, particularly in the larger sized machines, are quite long andthe capacities of the dippers are large.Y Consequently when lateral or swinging movement is imparted to the boom, to move the dipper from the point of excavation to the point of dumping, considerable force is required to overcome the inertia of the dipper and its load. As a result of the force thus applied there a tendency to spring the members of the dipper handle inwardat their point of in tersection with the boom. This inward springing of the handle members eventually produces4 a ermanent inward curve and permits slight lateral play of the handle. play causes a hammering and consequently a rapid increase ofthe inward bend of the handle which in time becomes so great as to not only weakenthe handles but materially interfere with their operation. The construction of the mechamsm is such'that it is highlyv desirable to employ Aspaced vmembers in constructing the dipper handle and for this reason it is not practical to place erl marient spacing blocks between the mem ers of the handle. v I.

The object of the present invention is to provide means forfspacing apart and thus reinforcing the'dpper handle without the introduction of s ac. blocks permanently securedbetween t e handle members..

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 This is a longitudinal, sectional view of a boom showing our invention applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line :c of Fig. i and looking in the direction ef the arrows and Fig. 8 is a detail view ef the connection between the spacing bar and the boom.

In carrying out our invention we provide a bar of a thickness substantially equal to the space betweeen the two members of the dipper handle. This bar is extended between the two members of the handle, parallel with the boom, and secured at its ends to the boom. The bar is arran ednear the lower edge of the boom, at t e point where the handle is brought into contact with the boom. This bar may be of any suitable kind and may be secured to the b oom in any suitable manner, the construction and arrangement herein shown being chosen for the purpose of illustration only.

In the present instance the invention is shown as applied to a boom of a well known construction comprising two side members, 1, spaced apart and provided with inclined fillers 2 arranged on opposite sides of the point of support for the dipper handle and converging upwardly toward the shipper shaft 3 which is mounted on the boom. The dipper handle 4 extends between the two members of the boom and comprises s aced members each having on its lower ge a toothed rack 5 which meshes with pnions 6 on the shipper shaft 3. A yoke 7 extends between the two members of the handle and carries rollers 8 vwhich bear on the upper edges of the handle and tendto hold the racks in mesh with their pinions. This construction and its operation. are well known and need not be gone into in detail here.

In order to reinforce the handle and pre` handle to work freely between the boom members. The spacing bar or member will be secured to the boom in any suitable manner but in the present instance we have provided' it with forwardly extending arms l0 which are connected at their upper ends, by means of pins 11, with bearing. members or blocks 12 secured to the respective fillers 2. It will be apparent that with this construction the dipper handle can be moved longitudinally to move the dipper toward or away from the boom or it can be swung about the axis of the shipper shaft to move the dipper toward and away from the end of the boom and in any position it may assume during these movements the spacer bar will lie between those portions of the handle members which are in a position to engage the respective edges of the adjacent boom members. As a result, when one member of the' handle is 'brought into engagement with the edge of the adjacent boom member the strain is not imposed solely upon thismember but is transmitted through the spacin member 9 to the second handle member. onsequently, both members of the handle receive a share of the strain imposed upon the handle and the combined strength of the two memberswill oppose the bending of that member which is in contact with thev boom. The tendency to spring inward is also resisted and prevented by the spacing bar. The construction and arran ement of this spacing bar practically eliminates the difficulties which have heretofore been experienced in connection with dipper handles due to the springJ ing of the members.

While we have shown and described one embodiment of our invention it will be understood that this has been chosen for the purpose of illustration only and that Wedo not desire to be limited to the details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

Having thus fully described our invention, what we claim as-n'ewa-nd desire to secure by Letters Patent, iS:-^- A.

1. The combination, with a boom comprising spaced members, a dipper handle also comprising spaced members, and a support for 'said dipper 'handle near one edge of said boom, of a spacin device supported-by said boom near the ot er edge thereof and extending between 1 the members of said dipper handle.

2. The combination, with a boom comprising spaced members, and a dipper handle also comprising spaced members,l of a spacing bar extending longitudinally of saidv boom, connected at its ends thereto and extending between the two members of said handle.

3. The combination, with a boom coin-v prisin'g spaced members, and a dipper handle also comprising spaced members, of a spacing bar permanently secured at its ends to said boom, extending longitudinally of the boom near the lower edge thereof and extending between the two members of said dipper handle.

4. The combination, with a boom comprising two members spaced apart, fillers arranged between said members of said boom, a dipper handle extending between the two members of said boom and between said fillers, said handlecomprising two members spaced apart, of a spacing bar extending between said members of said handle, arranged longitudinally of said boom near the lower' edge thereof and having upturned portions connected to the respective fillers.

5. The combination, with a boom comprising two members spaced apart, of a dipper handle also comprising two members spaced apart, said handle being mounted upon said b'oomI near one edge thereof for longitudinal and swinging movement, a spacing device.

carried b'y said boom near the other edge thereof and between the ends thereof an-d arranged to extend between the two members of said handle in any position in which said handle may be placed by either of said movements;

6. The combination, with a boom, a dipper handle comprising spaced members, of a spacing device extendin between the members of said dipper han le and connected with said boom on opposite sides of said handle.

7. The combination, with a boom, and a dipper handle compri-sing spaced members capable of both longitudinal and swinging movements, of a spacing device extendin between the members of said dipper handle, supported on opposite sides of said handle by said boom, and arrangedl to space said members apart when said handle is in any position in which it may be placed by either of said movements.

8. The combination with a boom comprising spa-ced members, and a dipper handlev also comprising spaced members, of a spacing device supported along the lower edge of said boom between the ends thereof and exten between the members of said dipper hai'ie.

Y 9. The combination with a boom comprisl ing two members spaced apart, of a dipper handle also comprising two members spaced apart, said handle being mounted on said boom'for longitudinal and swinging movements, a spacing device supported in fixed relation to said boom and arranged to eX- ten'd between the two members of said handle in any position in which said handle may be placed by either of said movements.

10. The combination, with a boom comprising spaced members, and a dipper handle also comprising spaced members, said dipper handle being pivotally mounted On the upper edge of said boom, Of a spacing device mounted near the lower edge of said boom between the ends thereof and extending lengthwise of the boom between the members of the boom and between the members of the dip er handle.

11. The com ination, with a boom comprising two members spaced apart, a dipper handle also comprising two members spaced apart, said handle being mounted upon said boom between the ends thereof and extending transversely to the. boom and between the members thereof, and an actuating device mounted near the upper edge of said boom and forming a fulcrum for said dipper handle, of a spacing device supported by said boom near the lower edge thereof and arranged tO extend between the members of said handle at a point adjacent to said boom in any position which the handle may assume during its normal operation.

12. The combination with a boom comprising spaced members and a clipper handle also comprising spaced members, of a spacing device supported by and between the ends of said boom and extending between the members Of said dipper handle.

In testimony whereof we affix our signa.- tures in the presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES B. KING. CLARENCE B. WESTON. GRANT HOLMES. Witnesses to the signatures of C. B. King and C. B. Weston:

BENJ. JAOOBY, CHARLES S. JOHNSON. Witnesses to the signature Of Grant Holmes:

W. R. JEWELL, Jr., L. R. THOMAS. 

